Exterior House Siding-Nailing Question

I am going to be installing 1x6 wood siding on the exterior of my house. It is T&G Nickel Gap profile. My contractor is saying he wont do blind nailing into the tongue and will face nail it. He claims to of had bad experiences with blind nailing as the nail has to be smaller and he says it doesn't hold up for very long. I'm not sure I want exposed nail heads but also don't want the siding to not hold up. Thoughts on whether his approach is correct?